1. Human enhancement
1.1. Greely, Sahakian and Harris
1.1.1. drugs like Ritalin and Adderall also work for healthy people
1.1.2. society should accept the advantages of cognitively enhancing drugs
1.1.3. pills in line with healthy eating and education
1.1.4. there are no rules that allow coffeine and not allow pills
1.1.5. most things in daily life are not normal anymore
1.1.6. drugs alter brain like every other action/substance does
1.1.7. ethical issues
1.1.7.1. safety of the drugs
1.1.7.2. freedom
1.1.7.2.1. pressure to take drugs to succeed
1.1.7.3. fairness
1.1.7.3.1. drugs would enhance unfairness in society
1.1.8. mechanisms to deal with ethical issues
1.1.8.1. more research
1.1.8.2. guidelines in organizations and associations
1.1.8.3. educate society about drugs and side-effects
1.1.8.4. enact laws in a limited and careful way
1.2. Quednow
1.2.1. distinction between treating sick and healthy individuals
1.2.2. problems and chances those drugs can bring
1.2.3. issues of emotional enhancement
1.2.4. present drugs are far from being pleasant and attractive to possible clients
1.2.5. drugs only indirectly influence cognitive functioning
1.2.6. only increase performance if subjects' functioning was bad in the beginning
1.2.7. brain activity devreases in other areas
1.2.8. many side-effects
1.2.9. high potential of addiction
1.2.10. users are mostly 19 to 24 year old males
1.2.11. stimulant use has decreased lately
1.3. emotions and cognitive enhancement
1.3.1. four broad terms associated with emotional component of study drugs
1.3.1.1. feeling up
1.3.1.1.1. general levels of wellbeing
1.3.1.1.2. perception of energy
1.3.1.2. driveness
1.3.1.2.1. internal push or pressure to do something
1.3.1.2.2. generalizes to other domains
1.3.1.2.3. inner urge to work until it is completed
1.3.1.2.4. feeling of tension and stress
1.3.1.3. interestedness
1.3.1.3.1. emotional state towards the work is altered
1.3.1.3.2. stay emgaged in the work
1.3.1.3.3. less interested in social interactions
1.3.1.4. enjoyment
1.3.1.4.1. feeling of enjoying the academic work
1.3.1.4.2. feel connected to work
1.3.1.4.3. experience fun while doing it
1.3.1.4.4. forget the time over their work
1.3.2. pills may lead to focusing the attention to studying rather than enhancing cognitive capacities
1.4. Harris
1.4.1. Ritalin is safe
1.4.2. Ritalin fulfills the safety guidelines
1.4.3. benefits of the drug
1.4.3.1. clear improvement in focused attention
1.4.3.2. improved executive functioning
1.4.4. solution is not to ban it but to make it available to everyone
1.5. Chatterjee
1.5.1. risks outweigh the benefits
1.5.2. high rates of abuse
1.5.3. high statistics of sudden death
1.5.4. cognitive trade-offs in the long run
1.5.5. drugs are for treating diseases
1.5.6. issue of equity
1.5.6.1. will be available for those with sufficient financial means
1.5.7. coercion
1.5.8. need more reseach
2. Neuroscience and free will
3. Classifications in psychology
4. What is science?
4.1. three statements
4.1.1. we perceive the world in an unprejudiced fashion
4.1.2. the observed exists independent of any theory
4.1.3. the observed is handled as facts which are a reliable foundation
4.2. Chalmers
4.2.1. beliefs and experiences influence perception
4.2.2. scientific knowledge is fallible
4.3. Bem
4.3.1. science as the embodiment of rationality
4.3.2. critical attitude
4.3.3. open-mindedness
4.3.4. liberal democracy
4.3.5. characteristic of modern society
5. Different views on science
5.1. epistomology
5.1.1. is the theory of knowledge
5.1.2. deals with the origin and legitimacy of knowledge
5.1.3. positivism
5.1.3.1. knowledge is derived from information from logical and mathematical treatments and the senses
5.1.4. rationalism
5.1.4.1. knowledge is based innate
5.1.5. empiricism
5.1.5.1. knowledge comes from the senses
5.1.6. realism
5.1.6.1. knowledge pictures the objective world
5.1.6.2. different types of realism
5.1.6.2.1. direct realism
5.1.6.2.2. internal realism
5.1.6.2.3. scientific realism
5.1.7. idealism
5.1.7.1. knowledge is a subjective social construction
5.1.7.2. knowledge is mind-dependent
5.1.8. relativism
5.1.8.1. no theory or concept is absolutely true or valid
5.1.8.2. objective truth does not exist
5.1.8.3. different types of relativism
5.1.8.3.1. ontological relativism
5.1.8.3.2. epistemological relativism
5.1.8.3.3. relativism of truth
5.1.8.3.4. relativism of rationality
5.1.8.3.5. relativism of morality
5.1.8.4. self-defeating
5.1.9. pragmatism
5.1.9.1. knowledge is functional and interactive
5.1.9.2. beliefs should help us to deal with reality
5.1.10. falsificationism
5.1.10.1. Karl Popper as the main advocate
5.1.10.2. theories and hypotheses must make definite predictions which allow them to be ruled out by observations
5.1.10.3. a universal theory can be refuted by a single observation
5.1.10.4. a theory can never be proven correct
5.1.10.5. there is no absolute measure of falsification
5.1.10.6. science searches for progress not truth
5.1.10.7. sometimes not the theory but the observation is rejected
5.1.10.8. not the whole theory may be wrong but only a small part of it
5.1.11. logical positivism
5.1.11.1. emphasizes empirical data and scientific methods
5.1.11.2. science consists of statements describing positive object facts and logical relations between those statements
5.1.11.3. believe in verifiability
5.1.12. other views on knowledge
5.1.12.1. post-positivism
5.1.12.1.1. no rule can guarantee scientific rationality
5.1.12.1.2. scientists have a dogmatic faith in their theories
5.1.12.2. Hanson
5.1.12.2.1. observations are theory-laden
5.1.12.3. epistemological holism
5.1.12.3.1. by Quine
5.1.12.3.2. no knowledge is immune to scientific refutation
5.1.12.3.3. no knowledge is theory-independent
5.1.12.3.4. opponent of positivism
5.1.12.3.5. Quine-Duham thesis
5.1.13. inductivism
5.1.13.1. requires empirical observations to claim that a statement is true
5.1.13.2. involves inductive conclusions
5.1.14. hermeneutics
5.1.14.1. one needs to understand the meaning of an idea to experience it
5.1.14.2. interpretations come with conclusive objectivity
5.1.14.3. interpretations are constantly changing
5.1.15. social constructionism
5.1.15.1. scientific knowledge is the product of social construction
5.1.15.2. language creates reality
5.1.16. naturalism
5.1.16.1. look at how science has actually done
5.2. the scientific method
5.2.1. systematic procedures
5.2.2. well-defined methods
5.2.3. reduction
5.2.4. objectivity
5.2.5. clarity
5.2.6. science is
5.2.6.1. revisable
5.2.6.2. testable
5.2.6.3. continuous
5.2.6.4. driven by theories
5.2.7. different reasoning tasks
5.2.7.1. deductive reasoning tasks
5.2.7.1.1. well-defined structure
5.2.7.1.2. system of formal logic
5.2.7.1.3. certain conclusion
5.2.7.1.4. no background knowledge nessecary
5.2.7.1.5. content is not important, only the argument counts
5.2.7.2. inductive reasoning tasks
5.2.7.2.1. highly probable conclusion
5.2.7.2.2. well-defined structure
5.2.7.2.3. system of formal logic
5.2.7.2.4. hypothesis generation and testing
5.2.8. different contexts
5.2.8.1. context of discovery
5.2.8.1.1. description of the historical, social, psychological circumstances and influences relevant to the invention and discovery of theories
5.2.8.1.2. aim: to find under which conditions science works
5.2.8.2. context of justification
5.2.8.2.1. normative criteria for holding a theory true
5.3. Kuhn's paradigms
5.3.1. paradigm
5.3.1.1. theories and concepts within worldviews
5.3.1.2. laboratory techniques and material
5.3.1.3. social processes and institutional structures
5.3.2. emphasizes revolutionary character of science
5.3.3. cycle
5.3.3.1. pre-science
5.3.3.2. normal science
5.3.3.2.1. people believe in the paradigms they are working with
5.3.3.3. mature science
5.3.3.3.1. single paradigm which is precisely defined
5.3.3.4. crisis
5.3.3.4.1. scientists have doubts about scientific paradigms
5.3.3.4.2. can be caused by anomalies
5.3.3.5. gestalt switch
5.3.3.5.1. takes place all of a sudden, not transient
5.3.3.6. revolution
5.4. the truth
5.4.1. correspondence theory of truth
5.4.1.1. truth is correspondence between a thought and reality
5.4.2. coherence theory of truth
5.4.2.1. truth is the coherence between a thought and other beliefs
5.4.3. consensus theory of truth
5.4.3.1. truth is what is agreed upon by common consent
5.4.4. pragmatic theory of truth
5.4.4.1. truth is only perceived in activities
5.4.4.2. 'true is what works'
6. Creation of reality by science
6.1. mainstream style
6.1.1. reductionist tradition of western science
6.1.2. complex system can be taken apart and the parts can be studied on their own to understand the whole
6.1.3. revealed discoveries are tools to improve human welfare
6.1.4. all innovations are safe until they are proven dangerous
6.1.5. can become a threat to the survival of the civilization
6.1.6. commercialization
6.1.6.1. everything that can be done will be done
6.1.7. doctrine of progress
6.1.8. directed at growth and profit
6.1.9. not value-free
6.1.9.1. overly selective
6.1.9.2. overly sensitive
6.1.10. does not fit todays time and society anymore
6.2. post-normal approach
6.2.1. only in areas with severe uncertainty
6.2.2. at high risk to be neglected
6.2.3. do not need to eliminate all uncertainties to get quality
6.2.4. all innovations are dangerous until proven to be safe
6.2.5. deals with the real world problems themselves rather than the abstraction of those
6.2.6. systems uncertainties and decisions stake might be high
6.2.7. extended peer community
6.3. goals of science
6.3.1. advancement of knowledge
6.3.2. conquest of nature
6.3.3. safety (should be included)
6.3.4. sustainability (should be included)
6.4. educational reform
6.4.1. give students space for own judgements and individual thinking
6.4.2. problem of privatized knowledge
6.4.3. effective external quality assessors
6.4.4. mutual learning by taking perspectives of other parties
6.5. medicalisation
6.5.1. many people that are members of important panels have conflicting interests
6.5.2. example: DSM
6.5.3. positive example: US National Institutes of Health